The news that Kara Thrace was carrying an Adama baby spread like the plague. Not only everyone in Pegasus was aware of that but also every soul in Galactica (thanks to stupid Hotdog again)and a good number of people in New Caprica were aware of that development.

Bill Adama, of course, was ecstatic. Knowing that he would become a grandfather soon was what had taken him out of the almost depressive state that his rift with Laura Roslin had turned him into. In the day Lee had told him the news, he and Saul Tigh celebrated big time, drinking the chief's best brew until they couldn't walk straight. Ellen, of course, was not happy with being left out of the celebration.

Helo, on the other hand, right after being told that his best friend was expecting, made sure that all her cigars and bottles of booze were kept away from her. Although he said he was just holding them in 'a better place', Sharon confirmed Kara's fear that she would never see those items again…

At 20 weeks of gestation, Starbuck's working hours were very limited as Lee was, in her own words, 'being an overprotective ass', which really annoyed her because her energy levels were sky high. So, when she wasn't busy bossing around pilots, she roamed through hers and Lee's quarters cleaning like a crazy woman or exercised. At first, Lee was really worried about the cleaning – everybody knew that Kara Thrace was a synonym of messy – but then, he realized that it was just her way to exhaust her own batteries.

For Kara, her own pregnancy was, at the same time, very annoying and very satisfying. Annoying because of the lack of flying and the look her pilots always when she yelled at them – she assumed it must be awkward being bossed around by a chick in civilian maternity clothes, as simple as they were. Satisfying because of the happiness Kara felt every time she felt the baby move inside of her, because of how Lee would 'talk' to their child when he thought she was asleep… She knew that what she felt for her baby was love and that made her happier than she had ever been.

And it was only two weeks ago that she had managed to get back at Hotdog for being such a gossip. During a small visit to Galactica she had sneaked into the showers while Hotdog was in there, hid his clothes and every towel or any item that he could use to cover himself. He had ended being sent to the hack by Tigh for indecent exposure after running half the battlestar only wearing his 'birthday suit'. The revenge was not as brutal as she had initially planned but Kara Thrace was simply too happy to be cruel…

Currently, she had decided to (finally) unpack all the stuff Lee had in the room that would soon become a nursery. Lee, of course, had to arrive when she was carrying a gigantic box to the main room.

"Hey, hey! You're not supposed to be lifting heavy stuff!" he told her, taking the box out of her hands. "What are you moving this box for?"

"We need space in the nursery for the baby, Lee!" she said. "We've been living here for months. Don't you think it is time we unpack all that crap?!"

"You could have asked me to take care of that," he pointed out, lowering the box to the floor.

Kara kneeled and opened it. It was mostly full of books. She kept unpacking the objects as Lee went to get more boxes. When he out the last one of them on the floor, he simply stood, looking at his wife examining the books. Gods knew he had always found Kara beautiful but now that she was pregnant she had some kind of glow that made her stunning in his eyes. Lee just couldn't keep himself for staring at her all the time.

He took a seat by her side on the couch. In one hand Kara had an open book, in the other she was holding a photo, which had been serving as a marker, with a slight smile covering her face. When Lee saw it, he immediately remembered the moment when it had been taken. It was years ago when Kara was still dating Zak.

"I can't believe you have a copy of this picture," she told Lee with a laugh. "I thought Zak had burned them all!"

"Like I would ever give him all of the copies," Lee snorted. "This was too good to be turned into ashes." The damn photo was a pearl. It had been taken during a New Year's party in Delphi's flight academy – Zak's last one. Lee and Kara were smiling to the camera, pointing at Zak, who was asleep on top of a table after drinking way more than he could handle.

---

Four years earlier – Delphi

It was already past midnight when Lee arrived to the academy's New Year's party. His assignment had taken a few hours longer than he had expected. Zak would have his head for missing midnight…

When he entered the cafeteria, where the party was taking place, everybody seemed to be breathing alcohol. In one of the tables, there was a group of nuggets competing to see which one could drink more in less time. A chick that he had seen around a few times – Boomer – seemed to be winning, to all the guys' disbelief. She didn't even look sick, unlike the other morons who were competing against her.

"I missed midnight, Adama," he heard a familiar voice yell behind him. He turned to see Kara, his brother's girlfriend. Every time he saw her, his heart would jump. He wished he had met her before Zak… Stop thinking of your brother's girlfriend that way, he told himself. "What's with all the staring? You okay?" she asked when she approached him.

"Brain freeze," he lied. "Sorry about that. I guess I should wish you a Happy New Year."

"Yeah, yeah," Kara said dismissively. "You know who's gonna start the year in a really crappy way? Your brother."

"Why do you say that?" Lee asked in confusion. With Kara as a girlfriend, there was no way he would have a bad year…

"Follow me," she commanded.

They managed to sneak through the mob until they reached table area. And there, lying on top of the table, was Zak in his glory – asleep and grasping a bottle.

"Holly frak!" Lee shouted before starting to shake with laughter.

"You tell me," Kara agreed.

He approached his younger brother and poked him on the side, trying to wake him up. Instead, Zak replied with a loud snore.

"I already tried that. I even checked if he was breathing," she informed him.

"Brainless kid. Can't even hold his liquor," Apollo joked, shaking his head.

"Oh, considering all the crap he drank, I'm surprised that he's still breathing… I wouldn't want to be him in the morning. I foresee a bitch of a headache," Kara pointed out.

"No kidding," he mumbled. "He didn't blab anything about you two, did he?"

"He almost did, but my friend Karl 'took care of him', meaning he got your brother even more drunk, so he'd reach the apathic phase and shut up…" Kara explained.

Lee raised an eyebrow. "How nice of him… Well, we should take him back to his bunkroom. The party's over for tonight," he declared.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I thought of calling Karl, but I think he hooked up with some red-head civilian chick, Hansel or Henson… whatever. I didn't want to interrupt them… he'd have my head."

"It's okay," Lee said. "I think we'll manage."

They approached the table to help Zak up. But then, another pilot pilot, Duck, showed up with a camera.

"Hey, wanna take a picture with sleeping beauty?" he asked.

Lee and Kara looked at each other and she shrugged her shoulders. "He'll hate it," she said with an evil smile.

His heart jumped when he saw that smile. He wanted to kiss her… "Then, I guess it is yes," Lee agreed, trying to clear his head of these thoughts.

Each occupied one of Zak's sides and pointed at him while Duck snapped the photo. Then, they carried him to Lee's car and took him to his rack. In the moment he dropped Kara in her own bunkroom, part of him could swear that the look she had given him before shutting the door had a shade of desire in there…

---

Present time:

"He was so cranky in the next morning," Kara said, reminiscing that moment. "Kept saying he felt empty inside. I'd feel empty too if I had spent two hours puking my guts down the toilet." Actually, she had felt exactly the same way two months before when her pregnancy still made her pretty much projectile… "When we showed him the pict…"

Lee interrupted her with a passionate kiss. Despite not knowing the reason for such a kiss, Kara responded instinctively to it and kissed him back. Another thing her pregnancy had increased was her libido – she was horny all the time, these days.

When their lips came apart, she looked at her husband questioningly. "What was that kiss for?"

"What? You didn't like it?" he asked, feigning hurt.

"Of course I did," she stated. To prove it, she pecked him on the lips again. "I'm just curious…"

Lee caressed her face. "The picture reminded me of a time when I couldn't want to kiss you without feeling like I wan betraying my own brother," he explained sadly.

She lowered her face. "I felt the same way too," she confessed. But then, Zak had died and everything had changed. After the funeral, she hadn't seen Lee until that fateful day in the hack two years later…

Zak was still a matter that disturbed them both, even if they struggled to admit it.

Lee, then, kissed her forehead. And put a hand on top of her baby bump. "So, have you decided if you wanna know baby Adama's gander?" he asked. They had discussed that matter earlier and had let the decision up to Kara as he didn't care if the baby was a boy or a girl as long as he or she was healthy.

"I don't think I want to know," she said. "You know what? I don't care either. Imagine if we find out it is a girl. Your dad will call in favor and fill the nursery with pink stuff. Plus, people are already placing bets about our kid. Let them suffer."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Lee declared. "Hoshi told me that Helo's bet was on a boy with eleven pounds."

Kara's eyes narrowed. "Frak, that's one big baby…," she muttered. She gulped with the thought of giving birth to a baby like that. Ouch, she thought. "Do I look that big?"

"Of course not," Lee assured his wife, pulling her closer to him. "You look perfect. Helo's just being a frakhead. Probably going to lose all his cubits…"

She seriously hoped so. Eleven pound baby… Please gods, don't do that to me! She begged. I'd never be able to walk straight again!

"But seriously, what would you like to have? Boy or girl?" he asked as he rubbed circles on her swollen stomach. He smiled when he felt a slight vibration coming from the bump, knowing it was the baby letting him know of his presence.

"I dunno. Boy, I guess. I'm not sure I'd know how to deal with a girl…" Kara said. She had been a Tomboy from the very beginning, Helo could confirm it.

Lee pulled away from her and shifted so he was looking directly into her eyes. "Sweetheart, I hate to be the one breaking the news but you are a girl," he told her in a serious voice before starting to laugh right in front of her.

She grabbed a book that was by her side on the sofa and used it to hit his head.

"Ouch," he said, rubbing the spot she had hit.

"You don't want to make fun of me," Kara told her husband in a threatening tone. "I'm a moody pregnant woman who has access to a gun and is not responsible for her own actions! So, if you cherish your life, I suggest you shut up, Lee Adama. I'd rather have you around when the kid is born, you know? Someone needs to change diepers."

He simply nodded. Lee couldn't deny that these hormonal rushed were kind of scary sometimes. He made a mental note to hide her gun before she used it on someone…

A/N: And here is chapter 17. I hope you like it. Please give feedback - remember, 10 reviews give you a preview in my livejournal.

By the way, for those, for those who read that message in chapter sixteen's A/N (now deleted) I just wanted to let you know that I dropped the mentioned arc. I eventually came to my senses - after my sister's boyfriend gave me his honest opinion about it - and realized it would be too cliché.